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Monday, December 6, 2010

Tula's Palacio de las Columnas and the Palacio Quemado were not used as residences but had an administrative function or were markets. It is noteworthy that there were two ball courts, an atypical feature among ancient Mexican cities, which usually had only one. This indicates the importance of this game in Tula. The players represented the "Lord of the Night" who challenged the sun to play. He was victorious and beheaded his victim, interring the head at the west. The sun, represented by a rubber ball, had to pass through a vertical ring that represented the devouring mouth of the earth. There was also a Tzompantli, or alter, on which victims were to be sacrificed. This Tzompantli revealed the decadence inherent when human sacrifice triumphed over Quetzalcoatl's doctrine.